News24 reports that on Saturday two paramedics responding to an emergency call in Mamelodi were kidnapped at gunpoint, taken to a shack in the bushes, and then tied up and robbed.
According to Gauteng's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson, Tshepo Shawa, the paramedics were hijacked, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed of their personal cellphones and other working tools. At the time of the attack, the two – a man and a woman – were responding to a distress call from Nellmapius, near Mamelodi, of a 48-year-old who had collapsed. Shawa reported: "An ambulance was dispatched to the area from the Mamelodi base and, on arrival in the vicinity of the address, two men waved to stop the crew. When the emergency responders stopped, the men pulled out firearms and forced them to drive to an unknown location." The paramedics were taken to a shack in the bushes, where they were tied up, while the assailants drove away with the ambulance. The paramedics managed to escape to the nearby Mavuso squatter camp, and called for help. The crew had managed to activate the panic button before their attackers took the ambulance and the vehicle was recovered a few minutes later in the same Nellmapius area. The crew sustained minor scrapes and bruises, but suffered emotional trauma.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24
- Read too, Ambulance crew hijacked, tied up and bank accounts raided, at TimesLive
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page